The Post about Sick

About a week and a half/two weeks ago, Morgan started coughing. And coughing. And COUGHING. Then we had to go to WI and it got so bad that she threw up at dinner one night (out, of course). Thankfully we were able to self-medicate with leftover albuterol from Hadley's last coughing issues and by the time we left WI, both girls were on breathing treatments every 4 waking hours. No fun, but finally they started getting better by the end of last weekend.

Then Monday morning happened (thank God Adam didn't travel until Tuesday this week). The morning was going along as usual, Morgan up earlier than Hadley, dressed, I was about to dry my hair when I heard OH NO. OH NO. OH NO. Hadley was head to toe poop as was her crib. After scrambling, a quick bath, and quick assessment of her actual status, we took her to daycare with the understanding that Mary would call us immediately if she needed to come home. She was relatively happy and no fever so.....

I picked her up and Mary said she was not feeling well at all by that time. I gave her Tylenol, laid her down for a nap, and 40 minutes later, she was a new kid and fine. We sent her again Tuesday and she was good save for one poo-splosion requiring a costume change although she didn't eat much outside of pretzels. Today, she had another poo-splosion but thankfully, it was completely contained.

Now, why am I so worried, you ask? Because the kids at daycare have been going down, one by one, with diarrhea and vomiting since last week. First it was Scout (Hadley's BFF) last week, then Hadley's buns only (thank GOD no vom for her ... yet), and then a bunch today - Adele, Tucker, and Cooper. Adele is Morgan's BFF so I feel like it's only a matter of time ... please cross your fingers and toes and anything within reach that can be crossed and pray that Hadley's butt is the only issue we'll have. I know it's likely not going to go that way, but a mom home alone with her girls til Friday can hope, right? Right.

At least the coughing is better! No breathing treatments since late last week/weekend. Tonight, I was going to leave the humidifier off in Morgan's room but with the potential for thunder in all these storms, I thought it might help drown out any boomers. Tomorrow is weird and crazy b/c Mary needs the girls picked up by 10:40 so she can go to a quick (please be quick) doctor's appt so I can go back to work. Then the entire student body leaves to go to a visiting artist at the middle school so I'm planning on getting some SERIOUS paperwork done since I have some major deadlines coming up in the next week. Which means NO SICK GIRLS tomorrow so I can get back to school by the time my kids all leave...

Wish me luck!! I can deal with poop. It's gross, sure, but vomit...NOTHANKYOU. Thank you in advance for any 'no vom in the Schmidt house' prayers.

Happy Easter, Grandpa Smith!

To say it's been a long week from a week ago today would be an understatement. Last Wednesday, I received the phone call that surprised and didn't surprise me at the same time - my Grandpa Smith had passed away. This man was a walking miracle so many times over so it was a wonder his body was finally so very tired that he just stopped. He was rather upset that he was going to be too weak to go to church on Easter Sunday so he just took a different route, I guess. Doesn't surprise any of us one bit. ;-)

This news brought on a huge flurry of frantic packing and changing of plans which all worked out fine in the end. We worked on Thursday and then headed home to WI that evening since we both had off on Friday (Good Friday). We stayed through Tuesday, early afternoon, so we could attend funeral services for Grandpa. They were lovely, it went well, and while we were all so sad to say goodbye to such a fiesty old man who loved life, it warms my heart now to know all the things he doesn't have to deal with anymore as a result of his failing body.

The rest of the weekend was kept busy with visits, candy, and coughing. And more coughing. And MORE coughing....we tossed around bringing along the nebulizer/Rx along to WI b/c both girls seemed on the verge of ok but if there was one most important thing we packed, it was that thing. By Saturday, Morgan was coughing so hard/often that she got sick at dinner out with my dad and grandma. Within a few breathing treatments, she was still coughing but it was much more tolerable for her and she could breathe. Hadley started treatments as well on Tuesday morning when she woke up sounding very "croup-y." We're weaning them both off today (hopefully) and they will continue to get better. Morgan probably should have gone in for this cough. It was a bad one. But self-medicating and life circumstances directed us on this route and for now, it's working.

*I started this post last week sometime, I think...can't even remember that. I know I've been a terrible poster lately (if anyone is still out there) and will work on that. Trying. So here's this bad incomplete post and I'll try to get more done later while I'm not neglecting other duties and racing through the second Hunger Games book (these are so good ohmygoodnesscan'tputitdown). Toodles.

Morgan's first big purchase

I think I mentioned this before, but right around Christmastime, we starting using the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Program for Kids with Morgan to teach her about money. She had to do chores (her usual household "helping" things but this one held her accountable for them each day - awesome all around) and for each chore, she earned a sticker upon completion and would earn a quarter a day. I don't remember how we decided on a quarter a day but we contemplated it for a while before getting there. I'm thinking we'll increase this when she turns 4.

There are 3 envelopes (clear, plastic, zipper so they can SEE the money they've earned) each labeled "give, save, spend." Morgan has an opportunity to earn $2 a week in quarters and puts 2 in each envelope and gets to choose where she puts the extras. When we started this with her, we asked her what she wanted to buy with her spend money. She thought about it a bit but I had noticed that she had been interested in the Toy Story movie and asked if she wanted to save up to buy the DVD. She thought that was a brilliant idea (of course, I thought of it) and started working hard to save.

Today was the day. Well, sort of. The first Toy Story movie is still like, $20 everywhere! And I've looked!! Can you guess how long it would take her to get to $20 on her "salary?" Forever. Finally I told Adam that I think we should either raid her other piggy banks full of coins or go halvsies with her. We agreed on the halvsies and each put in $10. Today she had $9.55 in her spend envelope. We told her that if she'd like to, she could get $.45 out of her piggy bank and have enough to buy her DVD. She of course chose to do so, and we were filled with pride when she independently said,

"WHAT!?!?! I've earned enough money from all my hard work to buy my DVD?!?! YYYAAAAAYYYY!!!!" And did the biggest happy dance ever.

We couldn't have been more elated - she GETS it. She gets that if you want to buy something, you have to work for and earn it. Things don't just get handed to you immediately (well, not ALL the time...). You help out around the house and it pays off. Literally, for her. My friend Abbie brought up a good point that we are paying her for things she does around the house that are a normal expectation as being a member of the household. She's right. That's what we're doing for now, anyway...we wanted her to be successful immediately so those types are the chores we chose. I think it's a great idea for Adam and I to revisit the chores she has and either keep/modify/change them completely. For now, though, it's working for us/her.

We're so proud! And so glad she's going to have this leg up on money as she gets older. And if she chooses to do something different, at least we did all we could to teach her a path that could make money NOT be a point of contention as an adult. Way to go, Morgan!

missing...missing...here

Gone? Abandoned? Missing? Hijacked? Refusing? Lack of things to blog about?

No, these don't describe me at the moment.

Busy? Overwhelmed? Trying to be a good worker bee? Trying to work out more? Holding all the crazy in? Running a household and a FT job? Being a better wife (trying)? Praying for "real spring?" Having fun? Out of state? Out of mind? :)

Ok, those all describe me a bit better, each to its own varying degree.

Sorry for the lack of posts this ... year. Adam thought it was great fun to notice how my posting has varied from year to year (year 1 - pregnant, no kid; year 2 - one kid; year 3 - one kid, pregnant; now - two crazy kids). Fun, indeed. Sure.

But really - things are going well and the girls are at a great age right now. I'm in love with watching how Hadley is gaining the world around her and Morgan is making it into her own big kid paradise (princess pants my way or the highway).

Family things we currently enjoy doing:

• going to the Y to run around like crazy and play soccer bowling in a containment racquetball court 
• eating pizza and getting ice cream at Culver's
• being tired of waiting for spring so we can spend oodles of time outside (highs in the 20s and 30s just isn't going to cut it! That's winter, not spring, no matter what the calendar says!)
• going to the Bettendorf Children's Museum (Morgan loves it so much she dreams about it...we may need to consider a membership)
• visiting WI
• snuggles and reading books 

 Morgan is currently in a stage where she misses people before she even fully leaves them. IE. in the door way leaving Mary's - "I miss Mary" (so turn around and look at her). Seeing daycare friends at the Y and walking 2 steps away from them to leave - "I miss Peyton and Saxby!" You'll see them in the morning at Mary's. 10 minutes before even LEAVING Grandma & Grandpa's house/leaving her cousins/leaving - "I miss _____." We're not sure where she's getting this from but it's a little hilarious when she's still right next to the person and missing them. We validate that she "misses" them (when they're still right next to her) and then tell her when she will see the person again. Goofy kid...

Hadley is JUST starting to fill in words at the end of sentences when reading very familiar books. She's also starting to imitate the correct number of syllables when given modeled words, and I feel like her talking is improving each day. She's cute as a button and I kick myself sometimes for not turning her into a child star (ha ha ha I'm totally kidding - I would be a terrible stage mom). Also, her 10th tooth (a bigbadmean molar) is just about through and we she is so over waiting for it. Diaper rash (horrid), bowel issues, some crankiness...It will hopefully be through this weekend and then we can all breathe a little easier until the next one. No big bumps right now so hopefully the kid'll get a break.

I want to do an Easter egg hunt with the girls. :( Stupid weather. It looks like it will be around 50 next weekend so onward! I'm excited although two years ago, we had an Easter egg hunt in the house with Morgan and her G&G and one of the (giant) eggs had a shirt with a "Big Sister!" logo on the front. Funny how time flies and you get to have all the crazy fun.

And Morgan grew up.

Today was a busy day. Hadley had her well-check appointment (refer to previous post), then Morgan and I went to the dentist after a quick stop at Walmart, lunch date with Adam after picking up my car from an oil change, pick up Hadley and naps for the girls, and then it was time for Morgan's haircut. I was fed up with it this past weekend when Morgan was crying and I was being 100x gentler with her hair than my mom was with mine while trying to get syrup and toothpaste out of her freshly clean hair. I declared we were getting her hair cut this week and she fully agreed. Actually, she'd asked for shorter hair in the past few weeks so it was trigger time.

Fast forward back to today and bam! Haircut time. While we were there and Morgan was settled, I went to follow Hadley all over the place while Morgan talked Brandy's ear off (my stylist). I saw a coworker and talked to her for a bit and when I turned around, my little 3 y/o little girl (who's technically not even 3 1/2 yet) had turned into a 6 year old. She had at least 4" cut off (like I had told Brandy to do) and she looked great. She looked much older and it was adorable and heartbreaking all at the same time. I tried not to but I cried a bit and knew then why my mom cried when I got my first major haircut (I was much older than Morgan for that one). You'll have to look on Facebook b/c I still haven't figured out pictures on here (gah, I'm so old). Oh and I'm waiting to post pictures until after WI maybe...it will be a fun surprise for her.

So just like that we have a little big girl lady in the house. We had such a big day. They are getting so big and it almost makes me sick how fast this is going. I'm going to blink and be 50, I swear.

Hadley is 15 months and growing fast...

Our baby one is a real-live 15 months old and we sort of can't believe it. She growing and changing each day and getting big too fast. (side note - Morgan told me today I don't need to whine about her getting big anymore...oops).

Hadley's 15 month stats:
Height - 31" (69th %ile) (and only a 1/2" behind her sis - we were expecting her to be shorter)
Weight - 21# 9oz (27th %ile) (teeny little thing but right on the growth chart)
Head Circumference - 46.5 cm (69th %ile) (I can't believe one of my kids' heads is not the front runner for biggest percentile...)

What is this kid NOT up to? She's learning by leaps and bounds and you can just see it in her eyes/actions that she KNOWS what's going on and soaking it up every waking minute. This stage was fun with Morgan but it's even MORE fun with Hadley b/c Morgan is either making her laugh/do funny things or cracking up along with us when Hadley is showing off her antics which makes it that much more funny.

Hadley Highlights

• Big deal!! Alert!! Hadley is excited about potty training and yesterday (Sunday), she went no less than 7x on the potty. She no longer plays while sitting there unless she had just (very recently) gone in her diaper and we missed it. We're nowhere near rushing her to the bathroom at restaurants or pull ups yet (I'm still that lazy and she's not ready) but wow, we're on our way. I was planning to wait for this until summer but if she wants to now...I'm not saying no!
• Every day she's starting to say more and more. Tonight we were talking to Grandma Susie for her birthday and Hadley said, "amma!" which is way closer than anything she's said for grandma. She says sounds if she hears them in words (ie. Shhhh = shoe(s), Mmmm = Morgan) and says moo if she hears it in any word (ie. moo/cow, smooth, etc). 
• She understands TONS. Today at her doctor appt, the Dr asked if Hadley could walk backwards. I had no idea. I told her, "Hadley, back up" and she walked backwards. I guess she's getting more than I thought. Awesomesauce. 
• Hadley goes up and down stairs alone, on her hands/knees both way. Still heavily supervised. Sometimes she thinks her belly also qualifies as an acceptable way to descend stairs. 
• She LOVESLOVESLOVES babies, play and real, and is often carrying one (or two) around. If we're upstairs playing, chances are high that Hadley will go straight to her Disney Princess Castle and play there first. 
• Hadley is one of the best huggers out there. If she gets hurt or doesn't like something, she comes huggin'. 
• BOOK.WORM. = Hadley. This kid will sit for books until I can't see straight as long as they're her favorites (ie. I love you Stinky Face, Goodnight Moon, Five Little Ducklings, Llama Llama books, books she can touch/feel, That's not my ____ (Usborne books), Brown Bear Brown Bear...the list goes on and I absolutely love sitting down with twogirls and reading to them). Last night, Adam sat with the girls in Hadley's rocker and read to them. Morgan declared she was going to read Goodnight Moon to Hadley and then did. Word for word (and by read, obviously we meant "read" from memory). It almost made me cry, it was so sweet. 
• Hadley is a big girl and has a pillow in her crib (since about 3 days ago). She keeps her head on it and sometimes doesn't use it but for the most part, she seems to like it. Woo! It's a scary transition for me when they go TO the pillow...but she's good! 
• Hadley is a good "singer." The word singer can be used synonymously with yell-singing, holler-singing, and general-cuteness. She loves singing/music very much and will sing in the car, church, anywhere. She is very aware when others start singing and joins in quickly.
• Our Hadley is not perfect (I know, I can't believe it either). We just recently switched her to a hard-top sippy b/c she made too much of a mess with the soft/flexible ones when she would pinch it upside down. The day after we made her switch, boy did she SCREAM and throw a fit when I gave her the "new" one instead. She's "big" now and is handling it just fine. Woo! Also, that girl can throw a fit with the best of them when necessary. She doesn't stomp her foot/feet like Morgan did at this age, but she can arch her back and become a crazy wet noodle of fuss. She's starting to understand more that if she stops and listens, she will have choices and likely get something that she wants. 

Needless to say, we are so very lucky to have this little lady in our lives. She completes us and is growing faster than we could imagine. We love you, Hadley! oxoxo

Al....most.....there

*Ooops* - I meant to post this last week, worked on it, then forgot to actually POST it. Think of this as last Thursday night. :) Carry on.

I don't know about you guys, but this is the longest week ever. I thought it would be great being off Wednesday with the girls and it was, but then there was a snow day on Tuesday and while that was equally a great day, I think the total blow up of the routine for two days has made this week take 10 years. It's not been a bad week - let me make that clear. We've had tons of fun doing things we don't always get to do. But long. Looooooooooooooong.

The girls have been good. Really good. Morgan was doing better on following directions on the 1st or 2nd try and not finding anything shiny, more fun, distracting, ignoring, not answering, piddling around, or generally making me crazy having to tell her something 5x and then this morning happened. It literally took her THREE MINUTES to take off her undies. Lying on the floor, rolling around, anything to take forever. Finally I lost it and had to raise my voice. Not my favorite b/c we both end up feeling like shit. Mission accomplished. We talked about it and while 3 minutes doesn't seem like a long time, imagine 3 minutes for each item of clothing (that was the track she was on) and it will take her 27 minutes to get all items of clothing off (3) and then on/dressed (6). I don't have that kind of time when I have to practically wake her with a jackhammer and late b/c I feel bad having to wake her. That all said, she'll be up at 5:59am on Saturday morning b/c both I and her dad will be exhausted from this week.

Outside of the 27 minute dressing issue this morning, Morgan has been wonderful. She's been helpful and kind and just fun to be around. Hadley has been hilarious as usual and her piggies are at a stage of adorable that should only be reserved to help cheer you up after a horrid _____ (insert your favorite awful thing here). Hadley's FIFTEEN months on Sunday. I sort of can't believe that, too. She's "talking" up a storm and I can't wait for Adam to get home tomorrow (pending good/on time flights! C'mon!) in time to hear all the new things she's starting to sound out/say. I'm going to try to save some of it up for a decent 15 month post next week after her well-check on Tuesday.

That said, I'm super excited about next week b/c I'm off T/TH/F for Spring Break. I don't have plans in stone yet but since Hadley's working on outing her morning nap (I think), I'm going to try to plan some awesome sauce fun for us that may include such "summery things" as toddler time at the library, swimming at the Y (with a PLAN this time or SOMEthing so I can get dressed with modesty), and maybe a trip to the Children's Museum to spend money and run around with less than a small city's worth of parents/kids while mine go bonkers with the best of them.